Coyote statues to keep Poche pond clear of sea gulls

Nov. 12, 2013

Updated Nov. 15, 2013 12:01 p.m.

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One of a pair of fake coyotes stand guard over the sand facing the ocean at Poche Beach. The decoys are there to scare away sea gulls whose droppings have been blamed for pollution at the beach. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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One of a pair of fake coyotes stand guard over the sand facing the ocean at Poche Beach. The decoys are there to scare away sea gulls whose droppings have been blamed for pollution at the beach. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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One of a pair of fake coyotes stand guard over the sand facing the ocean at Poche Beach. The decoys are there to scare away sea gulls whose droppings have been blamed for pollution at the beach. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A sign posted by county parks personnel explains the fake coyotes that are standing guard at Poche Beach. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A duck feeds in the pond at Poche Beach Friday. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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One of a pair of fake coyotes stand guard over the sand facing the ocean at Poche Beach. The decoys are there to scare away sea gulls whose droppings have been blamed for pollution at the beach. KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Viewed from Coast Highway, it appears a coyote is on the prowl at Poche Beach. It isn't real, but note the absence of sea gulls, which the statue is intended to deter. FRED SWEGLES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A bogus coyote faces two visitors at Poche Beach at the border of San Clemente and Dana Point. The statue is there to scare away sea gulls whose droppings have been blamed for pollution at the beach. FRED SWEGLES, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

One of a pair of fake coyotes stand guard over the sand facing the ocean at Poche Beach. The decoys are there to scare away sea gulls whose droppings have been blamed for pollution at the beach.KEN STEINHARDT, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Orange County is turning to trickery to prevent pooping scavengers from polluting a pond at Poche Beach.

Kevin Estrada, a county park ranger, placed a pair of fake coyotes on the sand Saturday, facing the ocean at the boundary of San Clemente and Dana Point. The pretend predators stand stationary but appear to be on the prowl to pounce on any sea gulls that dare land to drink from the freshwater pond.

“It seems to be working so far,” Estrada said Tuesday. The county wants to keep gulls away from Poche, which for six years was been listed by the watchdog group Heal the Bay as one of California's Top 10 Beach Bummers in an annual statewide beach report card. Healthebay.org monitors weekly bacteria warnings posted by health departments at beaches statewide.

A study San Clemente commissioned to find the source of Poche's problem blamed droppings deposited by hundreds of gulls. The birds would hang out at Poche to enjoy the pond at the mouth of a flood-control channel.

Until recently, high bacteria counts plagued Poche despite a $3 million ultraviolet system the county built to clean urban runoff as it nears the ocean. The system would clean the runoff, but gulls would continue to pollute the pond.

In the spring, the county appeared to have some success repelling gulls with high-pitched ultrasound on the beach. But gulls returned in the summer, keeping a safe distance from the speakers while frolicking in and around the pond.

In August, the city hired a falconer to shoo away the gulls by harassing them with trained hawks and falcons. The gulls vanished, and Poche hasn't had a bacteria warning since Aug. 25, said Tom Bonigut, assistant city engineer.

“The first day, (gulls) were all sitting out in the ocean about 150 yards out, as they did when the falconer first got there,” Estrada said. “Then by (Monday), they weren't even out there anymore.”

The coyote impostors are positioned a little differently each time. “They seem to be working pretty well,” said Mary Vondrak, an environmental analyst for the city.

The county plans to keep using the bogus varmints for about a month to see if the birds stay away. “Then we can take (the coyotes) away and see if the gulls come back,” Estrada said.

Chavez, meanwhile, is flying hawks and falcons at Prima Deshecha Landfill – three miles inland from Poche – where coastal gulls have historically flocked to feast on trash. Chavez has a contract with the county to perform bird control at the landfill through April.

This week, swimming season at Poche figures to end on a high note as the county shuts down its UV system today for the winter. A+ grades from Heal the Bay are intact.

The UV filter operates only in dry-weather months to benefit swimmers and is not designed to handle heavy runoff generated by winter rains.

It will be run just enough during winter to keep the filter stable, Bonigut said.

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